Page 92 - increasing-the-value-of-age-guidance-in-employers-age-management-strategies

Increasing the value of age: guidance in employers’ age management strategies

During the interviews, employees can request different types of activity: training,
mentoring, information on retirement, specific organisation of work time.
Other employees from the organisation, peers and younger employees, can
also be as described internal actors. Peers can provide guidance, as do the older
employees at Rabobank. In some cases younger employees provide guidance,
mainly in mentorship programmes, where both parties learn from each other by
working together and talking about the job at hand.
In 10 of the 20 cases extra attention is paid to the internal guidance provider
in the form of an internal or external training. In the remaining cases the
competences of the internal guidance providers are most likely seen as
appropriate to the extent that specific training on guidance methods is not
deemed relevant.

5.4.2. Governance partners
Governance partners help in developing the age management strategy. In eight
cases the organisation received external help during the process.
External experts may perform this role and may come from a consulting or
(semi-)public organisation (university or public employment agency). They have
relevant knowledge and help the organisation in designing the strategy, the
approach and in selecting the guidance methodologies.
Representative organisations (such as union or employers’ organisation)
may also be a governance partner. These have close ties with the organisation,
or sector, and may assist in developing the age management strategy. In
Vysočina, the trade union played an active role in designing the strategy and
approach in meetings with management. Governance partners may also supply
their expertise in the form of guidance in their role as an expert on specific
subjects. This makes them a resource partner.

5.4.3. Resource partners
Resource partners provide (part of) the resources needed to implement the age
management strategy, such as funding and guidance delivery. They are involved
on a more operational level than governance partners.
These are external partners that may (partly) fund the age management
strategy. Most strategies in the case studies are fully funded by the company
themselves but external funds played a role in seven cases:
(a) EU funds such as ESF, EQUAL and the Leonardo da Vinci programme,
when applicable (Wicke, the Czech Society for Quality and Vysočina);
(b) national funds that help stimulate specific areas (partly/completely)
overlapping with the goals of the age management strategy (Kiruna and the
Kronoberg County Council);

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